Hi everyone, how is everything going? It’s been another tough week and a bit. Since going on the diuretic last week the pain in my diaphragm just got gradually worse and worse. Despite the fluid reducing, the pain was too much and had to stop the diuretic to see if that would ease it up which it did to an extent.
I feel like I have damaged a couple of ribs, there is one at the bottom that originates from my side, there is a bit of swelling on the side where it seems to come from, I’m hoping it’s only because of when I lay on it it’s “bent” a bit and just needs some time to settle again. This is the same with the other rib which is about half way up my back, I had issues before with it and could feel a bit of a bump where it was sore, it seems to be playing up again but much worse than it had.
Both of these mean I can’t get comfortable when I lean back or on my side and even on my belly too. They are on my left hand side, but there is also a sensitivity on my right hand side too, so there is one position, if I lean on my back and just slightly to the right I’m ok, but you can only stay in that position for so long before it gets uncomfortable and you have to move.
I’m pretty much in constant pain with these two things and the pain in the diaphragm hasn’t exactly died down too much. Mentioned these on Friday to the doctor and got a call later that I’d be getting an x-ray and MRI to check on the muscles and bones.
The Tuesday in hospital I had a dose of Zometa which is for the bones, so hopefully that will help the ribs recover somewhat, and I got my anti fungal as usual. X-ray was organised for today but I just had to go down at any time to get it, when I had all finished for the day I went there on the way out. The doctor has put me onto some B12 tablets as the levels were starting to get low and a reduction again of the steroids, I’m back to the standard maintenance dose that I was sitting at before it all kicked off, now just to get off the Cellcept. The Cellcept seems to be the drug that is causing most of the counts to drop and the reason for the extra infusions like platelets and RBC and probably causing the swelling in my legs too.
By Thursday I had waited enough for the pains to ease and decided that I should start going out for a bit of a walk no matter what, I just seem to be going round in circles. The walk was only about 15 mins but it was nice to get out of the house and see a bit of nature, luckily there is a park right beside me and I’m able to go there. I can’t drive atm and being a passenger is bloody sore being thrown around in the car, even if the driver is careful there’s still a lot of movement. And there’s really no point in driving somewhere to spend a few minutes for a walk and just be sore and uncomfortable and then head back home, so I'm pretty lucky about the park. I’ve been going for the walk each day since then.
Thursday evening I received a call about getting an MRI on Friday morning, the same time as my appointment but they probably won’t even notice I’m late. At the MRI they were very rushed, but they were squeezing me in before anyone else, once it had finished they pretty much threw me out the door. I'd say it was seconds between lying on the bed and being back in the waiting room. But it was done, it lasted about 20 odd minutes and always reminds me of nightclubs, just the repetitive booming and screeching.
Then on round to get the bloods done wait and see the doc. Calcium was a bit low but apart from that all was pretty stable from the previous weeks. The x-ray of the lungs was the same as before so nothing of concern there but the full report is still to come back, same for the MRI although I very much doubted anything would be back within an hour or two of getting the scan done.
Saturday I was able to go out for a walk again and didn’t do much else, watched a couple of films and the football. The aches and pains weren’t too bad compared to the evening before when I just couldn’t shift them at all, it was an unpleasant evening. I lay down to watch a film at about ten but knew I was going to fall asleep and should have just went to bed. Within half an hour I was out cold and woke up again about one to have to relocate up to bed.
Today I’ve just got the usual aches and pains but to add to it I’ve a pain in my chest, initially I was thinking it was a referred pain but I’ve a real weakness in my left arm also and any time I try to pick up anything or use it the pain in the chest becomes sharper. The more I think about it the more I think it’s the pericarditis, it’s blooming bad though and hasn’t stopped since the second I got up. Before, lying down was the only relief I got from the rib pain but with that it normally gets worse when I lie down, so this is going to be fun.
Luckily or unluckily during the week I had a call with my cardiologist who is organising an ECHO for me, I say unluckily because everything was grand when I spoke to him and now only a few days later it starts to play up. With it being chest pains the hospital will tell me I have to phone 999 which I know isn’t needed so I need to think of a way that I can manage till Tuesday otherwise it’s back to hospital for me.
Hoping that’s not the case.
Oh before I forget again, I've set up an RSS, I think, I dunno how to work them exactly but there is a link beside the page title that I think you need to add to your RSS feed thingy, anyone who uses it will know what I mean, this should update you any time I post a new blog.